theme 106: these wounds still bleed

[failegaidin]

Today's theme:

these wounds still bleed1. Submit your drabble that fits this theme as a comment to this post. It should be between 100-300 words, if you go over/under a bit that's fine! If it's longer than say 400 words, I ask that you post on your journal or fanfiction.net and then submit the link to this post. If you find that your story is

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[vialethe]

Fandom: Firefly
Claim: Mal/River
Rating: PG
Drabbles completed so far: 42/100

In Your Heart, I Might Have Died

“You got blood on your hands there,” he says, after the barfight he caused has been ended by her and they're back safe on the ship. He's trying his best to sound nonchalant, she can tell, but he gives himself away, grabbing at her hands as though she's likely to bleed to death from a split knuckle.

“Most of it isn't mine,” she offers.

“Got what looks like a whole bucketful on your dress too.”

She twists and pulls at her skirt to get a better look. “Not a bucket. Maybe a liter, at most. And that's your fault.”

“My fault? How's it my fault, when I ain't even bleeding?”

“You are,” she says, touching a scrape on his forehead she suspects was caused by a thrown chair he'd failed to completely duck. “But that isn't what I meant. You broke that man's nose, which caused him to bleed profusely. All over me.”

Mal shifts, turning away from her to inspect his small battle wounds in the mirror instead. “Sorry, darlin'. Next time someone's 'bout to club you over the head with a pool cue, I'll just let 'em at it, how's that?”

“Acceptable.” The pattern of dull red on grey she sees after pulling her stiffening dress over her head is not, as it turns out, aesthetically pleasing. Leaning over the sink and catching Mal's eye, she says, “I would have broken his wrist. Far less messy.” He turns to watch her as she drops her dress at his feet, digging through his clean shirts until she finds her favorite to replace it, for the moment at least. “Also, it's your turn to do laundry.”